Sanji-centered one shots
by camille-love-cat
Summary: A collection of one-shots for our cook Sanji. No M/M pairing, just friendship, fun and games. Will feature Zoro mostly, but the other nakamas as well.
1. That damn sunrise

Zoro woke up with an uneasy feeling.

Yesterday's battle had left him restless and wanting for more. The fight had been short and epic, and the crew had gone to sleep early. Zoro had followed without grumbling because Chopper had made _that_ face again, and now he regretted it.

He was still tired from yesterday's battle yet his guts had woke him up. He was sensing something unusual from the deck. He knew he had to go check what was going on before going back to sleep, or he would never find peace. Plus, it was his job to protect the crew in any situation. He stood up, grabbed his katanas without thinking and went straight to the deck. He was careful to be as silent as possible so that any enemy on their boat would be taken aback.

He opened the door slightly, peered outside and froze. There was a figure leaning on the railing. It was bent over the barrier and... talking to someone? Shit. Was that an assault? Zoro was receiving waves of emotions and he retreated behind the door. There was something going on outside, someone was talking to somebody and either they were frantic about attacking, either extremely terrified. Zoro smirked. In a minute they wouldn't be frantic anymore. He unlocked his katanas.

He slammed the door as he opened it. The figure jumped a bit, still clutching the railing, but did not show any sign of attack. Zoro realised his error when he the smoke came to light. It was the cook, smoking outside. The swordsman lowered his arms, deceived from the lack of fight.

"Shit marimo, warn a guy next time" Sanji's voice rose from where the figure was. It was very dark tonight, no wonder why Zoro couldn't see him before knowing it was him. The need for a fight, the sleepiness and the misinterpretation of his intuition had made him look like a fool. However, tonight, Sanji did not seem to mind.

"You on the watch?" Zoro asked as he started walking toward the cook. Sanji actually scoffed.

"Ha. No. Franky is. But I suppose he fell asleep since he did not come to see what that was all about. Why did you try to break the door down, anyway?"

Zoro shrugged his shoulders and Sanji went back to look at the sea. He was looking down as if he expected something to bump on the ship at any time which was... quite unusual. When Zoro happened to catch the cook on the deck at night -yeah, that happened a lot more than expected-, the blond guy was always in the same position. Leaned on the railings and looking at the horizon, not always with a cigarette in his mouth. Zoro suspected the guy to simply be enjoying the view. He liked finding the cook on the deck at those moments because it meant that the cook could like other things that submitting himself to his hormones. Tonight was different though, he seemed distant and nowhere near his usual self. Zoro's guts were not wrong when telling him that something was wrong. Sanji looked pathetic and was probably feeling like it too.

The words where out before Zoro could stop himself.

"Were you talking to someone?"

"Is that why you blew the door open? To find who I was talking to?"

A pause. Zoro was not embarrassed. His cheeks were.

"Not if you weren't. Talking to someone, I mean." He replied. That was a bit childish but it would do. Surely, Sanji let the subject fall with only a smirk.

"There's only me."

Silence fell once more. Sanji seemed calm. Something was bugging Zoro and he couldn't shake the feeling. The sea was calm and his Nakama was reflecting this blue peacefulness. The sun was about to rise. Shadows were disappearing in favour of a smooth light, not too bright yet as the sun has not appeared. Sanji's lines were a bit tense. He was still staring at the hull of the ship. Anytime now, the sun would rise and Sanji would miss it.

"Do you need something?" Asked the cook suddenly. "Booze? Snack?"

"No."

"So why did you came here?"

Zoro went for the truth. He needed explanations.

"Because I felt something wrong. Tell me what you are doing here."

"I can't sleep."

"Cook. That's half the truth and you know it."

Sanji held his hand to his chest. The other one went to retrieve the cigarette from his mouth, allowing him to blow smoke and probably calm himself a bit.

"If I can't fight anymore, who will do?"

"Did you took a blow?" Zoro was concerned now, but Sanji shook his head.

"Calm down you big father hen. Chopper already took care of us, remember? I'm fine."

"Obviously you're not. Not all injuries are visible, you know."

Sanji raised an eyebrow at that, eyeing the swordsman with interest. Zoro stared at the horizon. He was starting to feel anxious that Sanji would only laugh at him. But on the rare occasions they would meet on the deck at night and actually talk, Zoro always seemed to be calmer, and Sanji always more sensible. It was as if night brought with it an appeasement powerful enough to calm spirits. Or maybe it was the sea producing this effect on them.

"I'm... I'm afraid to... become a burden."

Zoro couldn't speak. Sanji took this as an invitation to keep on.

"There was a pirate, yesterday. I knocked his ass off, sure, but he had time to... swing his sword very closely."

Sanji withdrew his hand from his chest, revealing a small cut in his suit. It was close -too close- from his heart. The cut was precise and Zoro understood that Sanji must have had backed off at the last time. Zoro instantly knew how he could have missed this. It was impossible to see when not looking very carefully.

"Well, he didn't get you." Zoro admitted.

"He didn't...? Dammit Marimo, that's not the point to focus on!"

"What should I say? You won."

"He almost!"

"No, cook. You won." Zoro cut him before Sanji could continue. He knew where this was going and he was having none of it. "That's what you should focus on: victory. There is no "what if" in a battle. Either you win or you lose."

Sanji looked at him as if the swordsman had swallowed a school of living fish.

"You won, you get to see another day. You get to know that you're strong enough for this world. And you learned a lesson, next time you'll be better and more focused."

"You mean that this battle was good after all?"

"Obviously, yes."

Sanji smirked, took a drag of his cigarette and went back to watch the ocean. Only this time, he was not looking at the dark hull of the ship. His eyes had lifted to the horizon. He was scanning intensely in the distance, now waiting for the sun to appeared and to shed light on them.

"Baka marimo. You 're unbearable."

"Yeah, sure. 'Cause you're not."

Both men fell in a comfortable silence. Sanji's hand rested on his chest, brushing slightly the place where is fabric was sliced. The light illuminated his face by layers.

Usually, he would stitch up any cuts in his suits, almost by routine. Now he was wondering if he would do it this time or not.


	2. Hiding in Plain Sight

It was one of those conventional parties that only high-ranked personalities attended to that the Mugiwaras had to infiltrate.

All for a stupid reason, too. Some random pirate had stolen their captain's hat -the crook had done his mischief and escaped thanks to his devil fruit power- and instead of going for it, they had decided to infiltrate the last place he was seen going to, which was this party. Why? Because if the damn bastard ran away with the hat, no one would forgive themselves.

Two pirates only were allowed to go through the front door: Sanji and Robin. They were dressed as a couple, which had Sanji going crazy until being "reasoned" -read "punched"- by the red-haired women of the crew. The cook was wearing a cape and a somehow more conventional attire than usual, while Robin had a long sleek black dress with some rustling at the bottom. Nami had been hired as a dancer, Franky as a barman and Usopp was hidden on a nearby roof with Brook in case of things going haywire. The rest of the crew was on the Sunny, keeping a close eye on Luffy. Nami had had a hard time being convinced to leave Luffy in the hands of Zoro and Chopper only, but it was too big of a crisis to be taken lightly and their captain was too shocked and too upset to be anything else than a ball of energy. Plus, Zoro was as potentially-able to cause a commotion as his captain, and Chopper was too easily-identifiable to waddle around in the party.

So there he was, wearing the nicest suit he had, the whitest shirt and the weirdest hairstyle he could go with in order not to be recognised, although he was less obvious than Franky and his gigantic shoulders. It would kill him to be seen like this by Zoro or Luffy. He would never hear the end of it. Thankfully for him, Robin was good at keeping secrets. So there he was, holding her hand, heart pounding like a drum in his chest and not only because of the princess at his side but also because the damn f*cking bouncer wouldn't let them in.

Sanji sighed. He knew what he had to do. He didn't want to, but he would do anything for his captain. He always knew that his willful blindness would play tricks on him tricks someday, and this was now. Today was the day.

Standing in front of the entrance, Sanji and Robin were having a bad time trying to get in. But Sanji was good at pretending, and even though he could fell all eyes on him -the guard was not the only one to look suspiciously at him tonight-, he went on. He lifted his head as if he was snubbing him. Seeing the look in the bouncer's eyes, his expression was right on the mark.

"What do you mean "My name is not on the list?". How can my name _not_ be on the list?"

"Listen, sir, I don't even know who you are...?"

Sanji gulped. He _really_ didn't want to use his joker but apparently, he had to do it. Robin clutched his arm ever so slightly, giving him courage. He threw a pathetic sideway glance at her. She had a sly smile and stars in her eyes, silently encouraging him to talk. Sanji inspired and snapped his head at the guy guarding the entrance.

"Check again. I am Sanji Vinsmoke. Prince, third son of the Vinsmoke family. I have a lifetime pass for shindigs like this one."

"You are-? Well, there is a resemblance, yes. Excuse me Sir, I need to check with my superior." He withdrew inside with an apologetic glance.

Even with the guard out of sight, Sanji kept his back in an upright posture. He tightened his grip on Robin but he couldn't meet her eyes. God knows what she was thinking right now. The guard was back quite quickly, accompanied by a man in fancier clothes than him. They both bowed in front of Sanji.

"Our greatest excuse, Mr Vinsmoke." Said the new man. "Of course, it is an honour to have the Germa 66 here with us tonight. Do you want me to announce you?"

"I am here tonight in my own will. I do not wish to be bothered."

"Alright, it is perfectly fine with us. Please enter with your bride, Mr Vinsmoke."

"Finally."

He didn't want to look at him. He didn't want to stay here any longer. He didn't want to go by a name he hadn't identify as his own since childhood, but he stepped in when the guard freed the path because he just had to. Robin was still at his side but at this point, he barely remembered she was here. Even with his hand on her delicate hips, he was too focused to let her go or to register that he was holding her a bit too tightly. His brain was fizzing with the constant reminder that Robin now knew his real name and all eyes were on him and how would the crew react and god this room was overheated and he didn't want to go back to this hellhole because _someone will notice and his father would be warned and he would be back for him and his friends would be in danger and- !_

Sanji was abruptly cut in his thoughts by something squeezing itself at his side. Looking down, he saw Robin. His gaze immediately shifted to a more distressed one. He wanted to preserve Robin and his comrades from everything. Though if his destiny came back to him, he knew he would do anything to protect his friends, do not let them suffer from whatever his father's plans were.

Because his father _had_ plans. He _had to_. He was the leader of the Germa 66, he was trouble. Literally. The embodiment of chaos.

And Robin knew all of that.

"Cook-kun." She said, as if on cue. "You did well. There is no need to keep up the act."

"Ah, hum. Sorry?" He was still troubled by his thoughts and wondered what Robin was thinking. He let go of her robe but she kept her unblinking eyes focused on him and continued:

"We are now inside. We have to find our _captain's_ straw hat so that we can leave with our _friends_ , and _never_ _talk_ about this again." She paused for a second before adding "If this is what you want."

The words _captain_ , _friend_ and _never talk about it_ swarmed in his mind. He felt his head nodding slowly. Robin smiled and clutched his hand.

"I will go look for the hat over where our navigator is. Good luck, cook-kun."

She left in her hand the warmth feeling of empathy. He let her go. She left swiftly, hips swinging, heading for the ballroom. After a moment, he made his way to the bar.

It looked like Franky had done this for his whole life. He was so at ease being a barman that he didn't recognise Sanji at first. He jolted when he did and eventually smiled.

"Bro... What with the hairstyle?"

"Shadup."

"No, seriously dude, who did that to you? At least you fully blend in now. You look like one of those heartless pricks. Doesn't fit you. It's weird." His voice was still cheery and Sanji guessed that Franky was only messing with him. The guy had a tendency to be too frank sometimes -no pun intended. "Hey, don't make that face. No hard feelings right? After all, I have the weirdest haircuts in the crew. You're not gonna take my place !"

That being said, he threw his cocktail in the air, stroke a pose, pushed on his nose to change his hairstyle, bounced the cocktail on his leg and caught it with a loop before it splashed on the ground. People cheered while Franky's new haircut floated around. Sanji waited for the heat to come down before talking to him.

"Yeah, I think we all agree on that. Now, do you have any _interesting_ info, hum?"

"Yo bro, totally. Saw the guy walking over there." He nodded towards a small guarded door on the other side of the large room. "He was talking with two of his buddies. There may be more inside."

"Any circulation?"

"Hardly. Door stays closed most of the time. It doesn't seem to be very big inside."

"What are they doing in there?"

"Hey, I don't know! I'm just the barman. But you know what? Take it from personal experience: what they do inside isn't very legal. I'm sure Luffy's hat was not their main objective. I saw 'lot of other valuable stuff going in there."

Franky finished the cocktail and gave it to Sanji, before drifting off whistling to serve other clients. Sanji raised the glass to his lips, eyeing the door like it could open itself without warning.

So, traffic uh? What kind of traffic would it be? If it involved their captain's hat, it must be some sort of auction sale. Something like that.

Anyway, their target was inside, it was all that mattered. Sanji considered warning Robin to have her take a peek thanks to her devil fruit, but it could be a trap for all he knew. Better not involve a devil fruit user in it. He had a plan. It wasn't a safe one but it was the best he could do for now.

He walked confidently towards the door. The guard stepped in front of him, unfazed by his attitude.

"Sir, there's a private meeting going on in this room. You can't go in."

"Who are you taking me for? I know about the selling. I'm the buyer, idiot!"

"Yeah, sure. And you are...?"

Sanji's face darkened. He lifted his feet swiftly and crashed it right next to the man's head. The big guy winced but his face remained unfazed.

"I have a trailer full of cash waiting outside and I am _very impatient_ to get my hand on this _hat_."

The bouncer raised an eyebrow. He leaned close to Sanji. The blond could smell the alcohol radiating from him and had to stop himself from wincing. It was the worse alcohol breath he had ever smelled. Including Zoro's.

"Listen, we shouldn't make a commotion. I need to hear the password or see the cash to let you in. Come back when you have one of those."

"Husband? Why are you talking to the plebeian?" Robin's voice suddenly rose. She was walking towards them. Luckily, the guard was too busy eyeing her to notice Sanji's heart eyes at his side.

"M...Mrs? I'm sorry but you can't pass."

Robin was walking with a confident sly that _absolutely everyone in the room_ noticed. Was that the same dress she came with? Because she looked stunning. She must have met Nami at some point. The archaeologist walked -no, _floated_ \- to him and gripped his shoulder. Sanji's leg flew down from the wall. He needed it to support himself.

"Robin-chwaaan...3"

"What is it, husband? Are you having trouble?"

Sanji couldn't speak. He was trying not to explode. Robin had pressed herself against him and had wrapped her arm around his waist. That was too much. The bouncer was merely capable of holding back his own lust:

"I was just telling... your husband... that I needed to see the cash to... let him in."

"Do you mean like this?"

She held up an embroidered wallet that went along perfectly with her dress. The bouncer's eyes opened wide. There was a good load of cash in there. More than what Nami usually gave them to go around town. Where was this wallet coming from anyway? Did her divine archaeologist steal it? No, she was too kind for this.

"Well, yes. I suppose... I suppose that's good enough." The guy stuttered.

"Perfect. This is for your inconvenience. We have more than enough with us."

She coerced the wallet into the bouncer's hands and pushed past him, dragging Sanji behind her. As the door closed behind them, they found themselves in a dark corridor leading to a half-opened door lighted from the inside. Sanji regained control of his body and straightened himself.

"Very nice move, Robin-chwan!" He somehow whispered to her. "Your act was perfect!"

"Thank you. You did well too."

"WaaaAAAaaaAAAaa! My lovely Robin! I'll be your husband whenever you want!"

Robin pushed away the blond-haired face coming toward her without breaking a sweat.

"We need to find our captain's hat."

"Ah. Yes. If that's what you want. I'll submit myself to your request."

They walked to the door. Voices were coming from within the lightened room. Sanji pressed his ear against the door -not literally, no one can hear anything with an ear glued on wooden planks- and tried to listen to the conversation going inside. Robin had already crossed her arms and closed her eyes. The thieves were speaking in hushed tones, leaving some blanks in the conversation. As the room was almost completely isolated from the party, Sanji could easily interpret what was being said.

"Your guy's coming directly here?"

"Yeah."

"You got info about him?"

"He's a collector. Not from town. Guy's loaded though."

"Good thing. Use that against him. How much are you selling this crap?"

"250.000.000 Berries."

"Shut up! That much for a stack of twigs? People are crazy."

"Not any stack of twigs, mate. Mugiwara's one."

Well, that was enough information. Now Sanji knew that what was behind this door. He looked at Robin who was waiting for his signal. With a nod, he straightened himself, raised his legs, and blew the door open. It smacked against the wall, split open and flew out of its hinges, making a horrible racket in the process. The thieves stopped talking to reach out for their weapons, then froze as Sanji did not move. The silence was filled with tension. Finally, one of the criminals shifted.

"Hoo's this guy?"

Sanji examined the situation. They were four. Knives and swords. Guns. Nothing too much to handle.

"I'm here for the straw-hat."

The others visibly relaxed and lowered their weapons, except the one that was looking straight at Sanji with wide eyes. The cook locked eyes with him. He was a small guy with brown locks falling in front of his eyes. He had the hat in hand. It was _him_ that had stolen Luffy's hat. The man opened his mouth to speak but could not utter a word.

"So you're the collector?" One of the rogues said. "'Could have knocked, man."

"I'm here for the hat, but I'm not here to _buy_."

"This guy..." The small one said. "He's _not_ my contact."

Without giving them much time to think, Sanji launched himself on his enemies and disarmed them with one swift move. A gun fired to his left, but a shriek indicated him that Robin had taken care of the problem. He took out a cigarette, waiting for the last one to launch his attack but when he looked over his shoulder, the guy had run away.

"Shit."

When? Where? The blinking of a light showed him a hidden door. In a second he was facing the door and prepared to run, and was barely stopped by Robin holding his shoulder.

"We have more important matter. The hat..."

She was holding it in her hand.

"Oh, Robin-chwan! You are so clever!"

She smiled, then headed for the door. Sanji whirling behind her. Then he heard it and stopped. Robin was already on guard. Sounds of battle resonated from behind the door. There was a fight. Luffy's voice boomed through the building, yelling and laughing at the same time.

"Seems like our captain decided to give us a hand," Robin informed him.

"I will protect you, Robin-chwan!"

"And I, too."

Surprised, Sanji turned briefly toward the archaeologist. She was smiling as always, but there was seriousness in her voice. She spoke up

"About what you said tonight... "

"Robin..." He interrupted her. "It's better if we don't talk about that, right? I'm not... It was just a lie to get in, you know."

It was a pitiful lie, but it was the best he could do. He could not talk about it. Not now, maybe never. She knew he wasn't telling the truth. And he knew she knew. But the Vinsmokes meant nothing to Sanji. His real family was outside, fighting. His real family had come as backup. Sanji was pumped up and ready to help his nakamas. However, Robin grabbed his costume before he could leave.

"That was truly courageous of you, cook-san. I'm glad we have you on our side."

He tried to convey his feelings through his look. She seemed to understand. Her finger brushed along his sleeve.

"You have nothing to worry about," she carried on. "I will not say a word if you don't want me to. This is your choice to make."

"Thank you Robin-chwan."

"Anytime, Mr prince."


	3. Asking the Real Question

_Anytime now… Any time…_

Sanji stirred the soup with a bit too much force, unwillingly spilling orange spots here and there on the counter.

 _Stupid marimo with his wicked sense of humour._ Sanji thought. _One day he was gonna find himself with an entire spatula stuffed down his throat._

The door opened, breaking him out of his thoughts. Then, for a split second, there was a blessed silence in the kitchen. Zoro has entered the room. He was watching Sanji with boredness –and a spark of something else- in his eyes. Sanji, for his part, had stopped moving to observe him. Sanji's hand was tense, clutching the spatula, waiting for the dreaded phrase…

"Yo cook. What's for dinner?"

Sanji saw red. He threw his utensil at him, yelling how such a moron shouldn't be allowed to live and forcing Zoro out of the kitchen thanks to flying pans and kitchen knives. One of them impaled on the door after Zoro's rush outside, missing the green-haired men by an inch and making him jump away from the door.

"What the fuck is wrong with him?" Zoro asked out loud. "Fucking idiot."

He stayed hooked to the railing for a while before noticing that the ship had gone silent. When he finally turned to take a look, he noticed fast head movement looking away from him. Usopp and Luffy even started to whistle. Zoro snarled and the two dorks startled. He ignored the rest of the crew to focus on them instead.

"Usopp! What's so funny?"

"Why me?! Everybody was listening in!"

It was good to know that Usopp didn't bother lying to him. He was obviously too afraid to try so.

"Yeah but you're easier to manipulate. What's up with the blond?"

"OI!" Usopp yelled, effectively not answering his question.

Luffy suddenly burst out laughing. He rolled on the floor holding his stomach with his hands. Nami reluctantly gave something to Robin, who gave one of her famous sly smiles back. Franky turned around slowly, still eyeing the kitchen door. Zoro knew that he was waiting for the cook to calm down before daring to go near the door to inspect the damages. Luffy kept on laughing.

"Usopp..." Zoro growled again, making his nakama react accordingly.

"It's just that... Why do you keep doing this?"

"Doing what?" Zoro asked intelligently.

"Asking him the menu for every meal? You never did that before, that's for sure."

Pure surprise dawned on the swordsman. The worst about it was that Zoro couldn't even answer back. Usopp was right. Before, he would have been napping under the mast or at the stern, but now he couldn't help himself. He hadn't even noticed it was making Sanji mad. As if he could hear his inner monologue, Luffy stopped laughing to watch him in the eyes. He was looking at Zoro, bearing a smile that would make the sun jealous. It was amazing how fast their captain could pinpoint the exact problem in mere seconds.

"You missed him too, right?"

Oh. So… was that it? He had _missed_ the cook?

"Wait, the ero-cook? Impossible." Zoro muttered in disbelief. "Why would I miss the dart-brow anyway?"

A very small and timid voice raised from the floor. Zoro managed to keep his calm even though Chopper surprised him. He hadn't seen the doctor coming. He ought to be more careful in the future.

"Maybe...because he almost left the crew?"

The reindeer was making those sad puppy eyes, not actually looking at him but focusing on the kitchen door instead. Ever since they got Sanji back, the doctor had acted strange, following Sanji everywhere until the cook gently –but firmly- asked him to step aside, that he wasn't gonna vanish. Thinking about it, he should have said something sarcastic to the cook being mushy. Why hadn't he?

"I know I was very afraid that he wouldn't come back," Chopper admitted. "I think we got lucky at some point."

Zoro patted his nakama on the hat to let him know that he understood. So that was it, uh? He had really missed the cook. Or maybe there was something more. Maybe he was… _afraid_ that san- that the kitchen would be suddenly empty some day. What a dumb idea. Yet…

"How do you manage?"

That was an unlike-Zoro thing to say, but it was okay because everyone had gone back to their activities and no one was looking at him anymore. Plus, he got the biggest smile possible Chopper could give.

"I... I'm not doing very good. I'm still very afraid. But I know it'll go someday, 'cause it could have been worse. Thanks for asking."

"Yeah..."

They stayed like this for a while, with Zoro's hand on Chopper's hat and watching the door, until Zoro found the courage to look away.

Sometime later, Sanji called them for dinner.

Zoro tried to keep things to himself during the meal. With everyone acting the same as usual, it wasn't very hard. Dinner ended, and everyone left the table one by one until there was only Usopp, Zoro and Nami sitting there. Sanji had started to do the dishes, the sharpshooter was playing with something in a corner and Nami was enjoying her dessert. Taking advantage of Sanji's inattention, Nami leaned towards Zoro.

"You couldn't last a week before making him angry?!" She seethed, and Zoro smirked.

"Eh. Not my fault you lost a bet."

The cook was making happy noises, busying himself with some hot refreshment for the night. He was sending hearts here and there.

"You better watch your mouth, or I'm adding this to your debt."

Nami then stood up, grabbed Usopp and left the room without leaving Zoro the chance to ask any question.

Sanji woke up from his lovely daydream on the door closing. He turned around to see that the angel had left the room. He twirled to the door.

"Nami-swan, where are you going?!" Sanji asked.

The thief stuck her head through the door, stopping Sanji before he could follow her. He didn't give a single fuck about Usopp leaving, but taking Nami with him was a no-no.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sanji-kun, I have things to do before going to bed. You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all! But what do I do with your beverage?"

"Maybe you can bring it to me later?"

The possibility of going inside the ladies room –and possibly interrupting something inadvertently- got him looking like a fool. He wiggled on his spot.

"Everything you want, Nami-Swan!"

With a wink, Nami left. Sanji sighed and stayed put, still dreaming about the ladies room. But a throat clearing broke his dreams. When he looked behind him, Zoro was still there, arms crossed and eyebrow raised. Sanji whipped his bleeding nose.

"Tche. What are you still doing he-"

"I wanted to check on you."

Everything stopped. The blond was looking in the distance, not believing what he heard.

"What the fuck do you mean?"

Zoro readjusted himself on his seat. He put his hands on the table and managed to make himself look apologetic, even if he was avoiding Sanji's eyes.

"I didn't mean to make you angry."

"Baka marimo..."

That had Zoro looking up, but he wasn't expecting to see Sanji smiling fondly. The cook had his hands in his pockets. He took out a cigarette and sat down, facing the kitchen and leaving enough personal space to put another person between them.

"Don't you have any other way to show your concern? I swear you're driving me crazy."

He shook his head left and right, as if scolding a small child, and lighted his cigarette in a swift movement. Zoro stiffened. He didn't like it when the cook was acting all calm like that. He felt looked down upon.

"Okay so, what's the real reason?" Sanji asked. "You don't check on me usually, even when I'm in the infirmary."

"That's actually it."

Sanji tilted his head to the side, eyebrow raised to show his disbelief. Smoke rose in a straight line to the roof.

"I didn't know you'd go crazy!" Zoro yelled. "I swear! I just wanted to check that..."

He stopped suddenly. There was nothing he could say that wouldn't sound too cheesy. His hands closed in on themselves, lost. However, Sanji didn't seem to care. He finished Zoro's sentence with disdain.

"You wanted to know if I'd still be there?"

Sanji taped his cigarette in the ashtray and brought it back to his mouth. His moves were slow and weary. This conversation was painful for both of them.

"And how am I supposed to take this?"

He finally sounded bitter, and Zoro understood why.

"Those bastards aren't my real family. I'd never leave this crew again. Better get used to me."

Sanji finished his cigarette and mashed it in the ashtray. Zoro realised he hadn't said a single word for the last minutes. The blond got up and walked angrily to the sink. He still had dishes to wash. Zoro realised that the unanswered questions were pretty harmful "You think I'd never come back? You think I left on purpose? You think I'd choose _them_ instead of _my nakamas_?" Zoro wasn't an expert on Sanji's convictions, but there was something common about their crew, and it was their unbreakable bond together. They cared about each other.

"I'm sorry," Zoro said suddenly.

Sanji stopped what he was doing. The dishes clattered together.

"I didn't want to bother you. It's just... It's good to have you back. This kitchen was feeling empty."

Sanji turned to face him. His expression was unreadable. None of them knew how to react. Zoro's interruption had been unexpected. Sanji's eye filled with sorrow but before he could speak up, Zoro managed to take the conversation back on solid ground.

"Yes, no one would come here. Because the witch put up an entrance fee."

"YOU DON'T TALK ABOUT NAMI-SAN LIKE THAT!"

A second later, they were fighting. Outside, obviously, because there was no fighting allowed in Sanji's sacred place. Zoro kept on smiling during the whole exchange.

It was good to be back to normal.


	4. This is not what it looks like, I swear!

"This is not what it looks like, I swear!"

Zoro raised an eyebrow. He had barged in the crow's nest without warning because, why would he? He was usually the only one using the training room. Now though, he wished he had knocked at least. Finding Sanji with only his shorts and a leg up on the highest bar of the gymnastic ladder was not something he wished he had found. But never mind that Sanji used his personal training tools. It was not _his,_ after all, it was _theirs_ , even though he was the only one using them most of the time. What was really worth it was finding the cook _here_ in _this_ position! That was golden blackmail material! So instead of getting angry, Zoro took the situation with a smile.

"Are you sure?" Zoro asked. "Because it looks like you're stuck."

"I'M NOT!"

Sanji's face was an angry shade of red. He was clenching his teeth in rage but it was not terrifying in the least. Although he was too ashamed and too angry to take proper care of his reactions and to notice that Zoro was making fun of him. He looked so helpless with his leg up that the swordsman actually wondered for a second if he should keep on annoying him. It was just a millisecond of a doubt though, and Zoro swore that he would never falter again when confronted with this man. He crossed his arms in question with a smile. Sanji sighed.

"Luffy dared me to… Oh, you know what? Forget it."

Sanji started answering before stopping himself. The blond's face reddened again, and his eyes went back to the gymnastic wall bars. Zoro finished climbing and closed the hatch behind him. From the corner of his eyes, he watched as Sanji hopped and tried to unstuck his leg with no luck. Zoro knew when his presence was not welcomed, but he made a great effort to stare right at Sanji while he was taking his weights. Sanji was trying to be obvious to Zoro's look, but it was a losing battle. He felt the man's eyes on him and turned his head in one rapid motion. It was useless to hide his shame now.

"Are you just gonna stand there, moron?" Sanji snarled. His swirly eyebrow was twitching in tension.

"Oh, sorry, am I interrupting something?"

Sanji seemed to finally get that he was almost naked, and he seethed in fury. No one knew if he was red from anger or from shame.

"I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING WEIRD, MORON!"

"Then I guess you don't need me to help you, right? Or that'll mean…" Zoro acted surprised, even if they both knew he was not. "That you could really be stuck after all?"

"Fuck you, grasshead."

"Swirly!"

"Shitty marimo!"

"So that's how it is?"

Zoro unleashed one of his katanas -one would be enough- and Sanji turned on his heel with the full intent to fight, but then his face cringed in pain, and he slowly went back to the ladder, muttering curses to himself. Zoro closed his mouth and sheathed away his katana. He would wait for Sanji to be ready if he could get unstuck on his own. He smirked as he started training. He needed to show Sanji that his presence in shorts was not bothering him at all.

Sanji hopped a few more times, but it was apparently painful and he stopped trying. It took him way more time to speak aloud than it had to stop trying.

"Alright, I get it!" Sanji growled. "Can you… Can you help me?"

"Why?" Zoro smiled, knowing that this was a perfect occasion to bother the cook.

"Cause I'm stuck..." Sanji mumbled.

"Sorry?" The swordsman knew he was adding fuel to the fire, but it was hilarious to watch Sanji trying to maintain his composure whilst wobbling on one leg in shorts and fighting to stay upright.

"I'm stuck dammit! My fucking foot's stuck in this fucking ladder! Why do you need a ladder in a fucking training room anyway? Shit!"

Sanji was waving his hands up and down frantically when he lost his balance and caught himself at the last second. His foot was so high up, that his short was making stretchy noises when he moved. Zoro burst into laughter.

" _Stop_ fucking _laughing_ and come _help me!_ 'Cause if you don't, I'll..."

Sanji looked at the ladder. Due to his position, going up was impossible, so he held onto it with his arms and started kicking its base. That got Zoro to move his ass. He jumped in to help before the cook could destroy any more furniture. He approached him and held him by the waist. The cook went rigid and yelped, confusing Zoro who was about to lift him.

"What now?"

"Your hands are frigid, mosshead!"

"Hey, don't blame me! I'm trying to help, numbskull," Zoro growled. He raised the cook effortlessly, and the blond took his foot out of the ladder with a sigh of relief.

"You're the one that's half-naked in my training room," Zoro continued.

"I'm not naked."

While it was true that Sanji was wearing that disgusting heart-shaped short, Zoro was paying it no mind. The thing was mostly cracked anyway. 80% of his job consisted in not looking down at this point. As soon as Zoro released Sanji, the cook made a beeline to a pile of clothes that Zoro hadn't noticed before.

"Are you gonna tell me what happened or not?"

The cook seemed to think for a while, then he reluctantly confessed.

"...See, I found Usopp and Luffy talking about stretchability, and Luffy showed his rubberiness. I was just hanging out to smoke, but they dragged me in the conversation and..."

He paused. Zoro waited a second before running out of patience.

"And what? They set you up this ladder, leaving your naked butt for me to find?"

"I WAS NOT NAKED! Seriously, marimo! It's just that I didn't want to tear my suit."

Sanji faced him, now fully clothed. The cook sat on the bench that rounded the room and rubbed at his sore ankle. Zoro had started lifting weights absent-mindedly. He was too focused on Sanji's story to notice what he was doing.

"They dared me to stretch as far as Luffy could," Sanji finished.

"So you told them to take care of their own business and you came up here to try and beat Luffy at his own game?" Knowing Sanji's pride, it was easy to guess the rest of the story.

"Hum-hum," Sanji acknowledged him.

"How long have you been stuck here for?"

Sanji made a vague sound with his throat but gave no answer whatsoever. Zoro chuckled. He went back to his weights and finally noticed that they were too light. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sanji's brain turning in his head. The cook was clearly still thinking about the question.

"Men's body is not meant to go at such extent," Zoro provided.

"Luffy did it."

"I stand my ground... Not a man. Plus, he's made of _rubber_?"

Ah, now the weights were heavy enough. He lifted them with a slight sweat, failing to notice that Sanji was hiding his disappointment. Of course, the cook would still find a way to blame himself, but Zoro couldn't care less. If he wasn't strong enough to survive Luffy and Usopp's taunts, he wouldn't last a week. Sanji suddenly got up and went back to the ladder. He lifted his leg effortlessly and put it back on the ladder.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Yelled Zoro. "Are you trying to get stuck again?"

"SHUT UP! Is this a training room or what?!"

Zoro could see why Sanji wanted to do this naked. It was just painful to watch the clothes stretch at impossible angles. But no way the cook was undressing when he had company. This was the occasion Zoro had been waiting for. He decided he would stay to... supervise the operation. Sanji caught him staring and hiding back a giggle.

"You still laughing?"

"Not."

Sanji regained the calm chic that characterized him, then managed to do his training exercise in silence. Both of them were too focused to talk, especially with the weird experience that had just happened. However, when dinner time approached, Sanji left the gymnastic ladder and dusted his suit before heading to the hatch.

"Hey, cook."

"…What?"

"You totally owe me one."

Sanji left. But even though he was already out, Zoro heard him. And with that soft word, he was sure that Sanji would keep his promise.

"Shit," Sanji snorted.


	5. The perfect shade of Blue

Sanji opened the kitchen door gently and got out. The wood creaked lightly, disturbing the silence that had settled in. It was a perfect day. It was one of those days when the crew was quiet. As if, by mutual agreement, they had decided that this day would be calm, with no yell, no loud game, no new invention, no training marimo, nothing. The cook stood still, embracing the sound of the sea that greeted him outside.

These kind of days were extremely rare, because this crew was an energic one, with a will to live that translated in an ever-loud effervescence. Sanji was fine with the noise because it was the way his nakamas were, it was how he liked it too. He loved to see Luffy racing up and down the boat, Usopp and Chopper on his tail, with Brook playing the violin and Franky laughing loudly at something Robin had say. But even an energetic crew knew when to rest, and every now and then, Luffy refrained from yelling, and Brook from playing, and Franky from laughing, and they all would stay silent for a while because the sea would beckon them to enjoy the moment. On those kind of days, Sanji loved to spend some time out of his kitchen.

Not everyone was on the deck, on this afternoon. On the low deck, seated on the boat ramp, were Luffy and Usopp, the inseparable duo, fishing their afternoon away. They were making little sound, giggling softly with every fish they caught. Robin was seated at a table, in the shadow of a sunshade, reading a heavy book of an unknown subject. Their cartograph was lying in a deckchair, completely still. Sanji noticed the legs of their swordsman sticking out of behind the mast, sleeping in the shadows. Everyone had heard the kitchen door opening, but nobody moved an inch, except Luffy who flashed a smile at his cook before focusing his attention back on his fishing rod. What a miracle that Zoro wasn't snoring.

Sanji breathed in the salty smell of the sea. Bliss flashed on his face when he turned his gaze to the sea. It was the bluest sea they ever sailed across. Sanji couldn't help but smile. This part of the journey was his favourite one yet. They had travelled very far and for very long, and Sanji was not surprised if their odyssey was close to an end. They had learned must from each other and their strength had kept them safe. Now, Sanji was sure that soon, they would arrive at Raftel.

He lifted the tray with the drinks he was carrying. He then slowly walked to the table where Robin was seated. Sanji presented the purple glass to the archaeologist, keeping the orange one for the other lady on board. It clinked when he placed it on the table. The umbrella in the drink rolled, following the movements of the ice cubes. Robin raised her eyes from her book and smiled at him.

"For you, my lady."

"Thank you."

Robin looked away, laying her book on her legs to rest. The exchange had been quiet. Sanji himself had almost whispered his own sentence, setting aside his woman-loving usual self for once. He carefully raised his plate with the other glass on it and stood straight, face-to-face with the sea. Nami sat up and lifted her immense floppy hat. She stretched. The deckchair creaked. She turned to talk to the blond but stopped herself when she saw his expression. She couldn't break the moment, her drink would wait.

It was Luffy who finally broke the silence.

A splashing sound came from the low deck, then a giggle. There was a hushed conversation between Luffy and Usopp and finally, when they couldn't keep the discovery to themselves anymore, they called for the blond.

"Oi, Sanji. What is that?"

The cook took a good look at the wriggling fish in Luffy's hands but, much to his horror, he discovered that he couldn't identify the fish's species. Or, more precisely, the fish was from a species that _couldn't_ _be_ here.

"I don't... I... I can't see it well from here."

"Well," Usopp intervened. "We think it's a Sky Fish but... there's no way we're right... Right ?"

Sanji leaned down the railing, with the tray still in his hand. He was too caught up with this mystery to notice that he hadn't given her glass to Nami yet.

"You're right, it's a Sky Fish... How did he end up here?"

Then the cook took notice of the basket of fish that the duo had gathered and Sanji... was lost. It didn't make any sense. There was every kind of fish in there. Bone fish, gyoriiza, sea slug, and every kind of fish he had ever met.

The plate slipped from his hands.

"LUFFY!" Sanji yelled.

Everyone jumped, surprised by the loud noise. Usopp almost slipped from the railing, and Zoro's leg jerked too before disappearing behind the pillar. He raised his head, hand on his katana as he was expecting an enemy. Even Robin bounced slightly. She had caught the drink and the plate before it tipped over but had jumped like everyone with Sanji's outburst.

"You've caught a Sky Fish!" Sanji yelled again, stating the obvious. He couldn't say anything else.

He couldn't say that there were too many fishes in the basket, with too many colours; that the fishes they caught should not have been there at all, because all of them _came from all around the world_.

Sanji opened his mouth one last time but found himself unable to speak. He was waiting in the hope that his captain could understand his silence.

At this point, Sanji was clutching the railing, waiting for a reaction from his crew when suddenly; he was overwhelmed with the need to see it by himself, to _feel it_ in his _bones_. After all, this was _the ALL BLUE_!

He turned his head and filled his eyes with the vision in front of him. The sea was calm, contrasting with the unstoppable beating of his heart. An oil slick sea, with a light breeze. The water was peaceful, unaware of the richness in its belly. The sun was sending golden hints on the sea and in his eyes. A glimpse of bliss flashed in his grin. It was the purest blue he had ever seen.

Sanji couldn't wait. He had to jump!

The cook leapt ahead. He took off his shoes on the run, without stopping to take care of them correctly. They flew who knows where, forgotten in the adrenaline of the moment. He jumped on the railing, built his strength in his legs, and dived in.

The world ended with a splash. Water engulfed him and shaped him like a second skin. Muffled sounds superseded the quietness of the outside. As the bubbles ascended, water played with his hair. Sanji opened his eyes.

There were few fishes swimming below the waterline, and those who did were small and frail, but curious as well. They came to take a look at the blond cook and swam around him, scattering at every movement and regrouping gradually. A few fishes picked at his hair. A particularly large one faced him before disappearing behind him. He recognised a red and golden fish that came slaloming between his fingers and another as one of the first fish Zeff correctly taught him to cook. A school of fish danced around him before dashing up and out of the water, only to fall back in the sea once gravity took its toll.

Sanji dove further down. A panda shark swan near him, showing no sign of harm. He sank deeper, where the bigger fish where. At this point, the fishes were bigger and louder. When they swam near him, Sanji could hear a low roar resonating in his ears. They were swimming down with him and when he stopped, they all hovered around him skittishly. Two large Sky Fish, one grey and the other blue, passed below his legs. He stayed there, floating in the blue, carried by the water until his lungs cried for help. He stayed longer, even when he knew it wasn't safe. He knew he could come back, but leaving this enchanted vision was breaking his heart. Finally, with one last look, he swam up and broke out of the water with a gasp. He coughed a few time, feeling a little light-headed and, still caught up in his own world, he didn't notice his nakamas at first.

Everyone had come up on the deck to know what had happened. They were whispering between them, obviously talking about Sanji's behaviour. It was strange to see his nakamas all lined up, waiting for him to explain everything.

Chopper was crying in distress, howling at him bits of sentences like "breathe slowly" and "are you ok?". He was obviously dying to get Sanji on board again. Zoro was wide-eyed with his foot on the railing ready to dive in after him. And the rest of the crew just looked kind of surprised, but not too worried. Sanji smiled wide, both to reassure them and to try to explain the situation. Looking out over each of them, his eyes landed on Luffy and his captain started laughing loudly, to which Sanji answered by laughing loudly himself. The crew seemed to understand at least.

The sea, which was once perfectly still, rippled with echoes of their laughter.


	6. Letters from another boat

Sanji was usually the one that picked the mail. Being the first awake, it was part of his task to great the News Coo seagull, give it a fish and distribute the mail during breakfast. Sometimes, the mail came later, when Sanji was busy in the kitchen and then it was Nami's job to take care of it. As much as he didn't like having Nami using her small fragile hands to work, he couldn't be at two places at once and he couldn't force the mail to arrive earlier either.

When Sanji collected the mail this morning, News Coo gave him a blank envelope hidden among other things. There was a letter in it of course, but Sanji couldn't comprehend why there was nothing written on this envelope. Maybe the recipient's name and its address had been erased by water? But then, why would News Coo give _them_ the letter? No one has sent anything in the past weeks. It had been a week full of adventures and marines with no time to rest. There was no sender either, so no way for him to send it back to its owner. The letter was a little damp too, but dry-damp, as if it had been wet and had dried under the sun, which confirmed Sanji's theory about the letter falling in the sea and erasing the recipient's information from it. Sanji turned the envelope to examine it carefully but there was nothing more than a few erased letters on the front of the envelope and he couldn't make them out.

Sanji handed the letter back to News Coo but the bird didn't seem to react. Annoyed, Sanji tried to explain the situation.

« Can you take that back? It's not for us. »

The bird turned its head to look at the letter, but he only squawked and flapped its wings without doing anything about it. Sanji was extremely confused. News Coos were intelligent birds and they rarely made any mistakes. If something like that had to happen, they would give the letter back to its sender. Being the one in charge of the mail, Sanji knew none of the others was waiting for any sort of letter right now. He tried giving it back once more only to have the seagull turning its head away with a frown.

« Would you stop being so stubborn? _Grumbled Sanji_. Come on! It is neither for us nor from us. Would you take that back? Whoever sent it must be waiting for an answer! »

He tried to force the letter in the seagull's pouch, but it squawked indignantly and turned away from him. Sanji sighed with resignation.

« Alright. If I answer this, would you take it back to the sender? »

A shriek: yes.

« Even though I don't know who sent it? Will you be able to find the way back? »

Another shriek, another yes.

« But for some reasons, you won't take it back right now. Are you aware that this is counter-productive? This is giving me more work than I already have. But maybe… wait… is it a cute girl? Are you giving me a cute girl's letter for me to answer? »

The bird looked a bit lost by Sanji's train of thought and in this instant, the cook realized that he was talking to a bird and that said bird didn't share his appreciation on women. He took the letter, the rest of the mail, gave the bird its fish and decided to read everything later in the morning, after breakfast.

Breakfast went without any problem. Sanji managed to keep Luffy away from the girl's plates and when everything was cleaned and tucked away, he climbed the ladder to the garden and took a seat there. He was, to a certain extent, dreading this letter. A curious feel between adrenaline, anticipation and thrill had keet him from tearing it open in front of everyone. Now, seated between the flowers, he was already imagining how, across the sea, a pretty girl was probably waiting for her friend to answer, only to receive _his_ letter. Like a true Cyrano, his words would conquer her heart and she would answer passionately. Just thinking about it made Sanji squirm in delight. Without further ado, he opened the envelope and took the letter out.

It read:

« _Kouina,_

 _Sorry for writing late, I was very busy this month._

 _Everything is fine here, we made new relations._

 _When I'll be back, I'll visit you. But I won't be back for a while, you know that._

 _Sorry for keeping you waiting._ »

Well, nice letter. Very impersonal and all, but it wasn't answering Sanji's questions. Who was the sender? Sanji sighed again. He had hope that the letter would give him some information but nothing in it was useful. He still didn't know if the sender was a boy or a girl, which made answering very difficult. Was he supposed to pour his heart into answering the letter or would he be wasting his time on a dude? Some people weren't taking things seriously.

He decided that the sender must have been a dude because of how impersonal it was. Just in case, Sanji decided to be a gentleman. After all, this guy never caused him harm, it would have been very impolite to send a blank letter back. His job right now was to write a letter attractive enough for a possible girl to answer back but still polite enough to be able to refuse any inappropriate advances if the sender was a guy. This was not the easiest task he had had but he could manage.

He started writing.

« _Good morning,_

 _Kouina isn't available right now, but I must say your writing style is quite intriguing. Why not write to me instead?_

 _I would love to have a new pen pal._ »

Now, what to do? He couldn't sign with his name in case the letter was from a marine. There was no need to endanger his nakamas with this. News Coo was intelligent enough to find its way back without an address if he decided to keep the conversation going. Now, to sign…

« _N°5_ »

That would do.

The next morning, he sent the letter. This whole experience was quite amusing to Sanji and the delightful feeling that he had experienced when opening the letter hadn't gone away yet. What would the answer be? Who was this mysterious sender? Sanji couldn't help but twirl each time was thinking about this mysterious, which earned him some snarky remarks from Zoro.

The answer was quick to come. News Coo gave Sanji a letter four days later, which was strangely fast. It meant that both he and the mysterious sender were very close. Sanji waited after breakfast and almost tore the letter open.

« _You sick son of a bitch. Stop writing for Kouina._

 _I know you're not her._

 _I don't know who you are but stop this right now._

 _Asshole_. »

The more Sanji read, the more he felt his hair standing. Who was this arrogant asshole?! Who the hell did he think he was? The cook still had no idea what the relationship between this guy -because it was _obviously_ a boy- and Kouina was but he was _certain_ now he had intercepted a letter from lovers separated by the sea. A nasty idea started to sprout in his head. It was time to drop the honorifics and start to act like a real man. If this guy wanted to be an asshole, two could play at this game. Sanji grabbed his pen and started to write.

« _Buddy,_

 _I don't know you, sorry, Kouina never talks about you. Could you please not insult me? I don't know why you're separate but it's creepy how you keep sending her letters. You've got to stop._

 _She's with me now, she's not waiting for you anymore. People change, buddy._

 _N°5._

 _By the way, do you know what her favourite flowers are?_ »

Sanji re-read the letter, quite pleased with himself. This second letter he had received was way less intelligible than the previous one. It was filled with erasures and stains, and the writing was more frantic. There was still no sender, so the guy was probably as cautious as Sanji about this situation. However, seeing how hot-headed he was, Sanji could guess that he was not half as polite as him. This anger confirmed Sanji's hypothesis: that the guy was Kouina's old lover or something like that.

The answers kept coming, less and less intelligible, with more wrath each time.

« _You sick bastard! Asshole! You don't know Kouina! Stop trying to sound like you do! She doesn't like flowers! She's not your lover! Fucking! You're a psycho! Stop! Writing!_ »

Those letters were quite amusing to the cook, especially since the atmosphere on the boat had taken such a drastic turn since their last adventure. Zoro was a touchy subject. He was closing in on himself and working out non-stop. Sanji guessed that something had happened to him during the fight and now, he was trying to make up for whatever it was. Such a moron. His temper affected the whole crew. When he was present, the conversations were hushed, as if their nakamas were too afraid to speak too loudly, and when he wasn't, everything revolved around him. « Did something happen? » and « Does someone knows what? ». Sanji shrugged off these thoughts. The guy was just having a mood.

News Coo was late today but Sanji was so excited to give it the letter that he was still waiting outside instead of preparing breakfast. He was smoking to pass the time. He was quite proud of his answer for mister angry-and-couldn't-take-a-joke-guy and he was impatient to hear what the other had to say this time.

This joke was the only thing lightning his days recently. The next island was still very far away, Zoro was getting on his nerves and his attempts to flirt with Nami were met with silence and disapproval. Needless to say, the cook was bored.

He was at the end of his cigarette when News Coo finally arrived. His feathers were ruffled and he was looking kinda stressed. Sanji wasted no time trying to understand what the seagull has been through; it was probably just a sea monster anyway. He took his letter out of his suit and immediately gave it to the bird. News Coo reluctantly took the letter in his pouch.

« Thanks Coo. Do you have the news for my wonderful Nami-swan?

-Coooo! »

The Peli gave him the news and decided to sit for a minute, it was obviously quite tired. Sanji was about to give it a fish when suddenly, tumbling out on the bridge came Zoro, looking disarray and angrier than usual. It seemed like he hadn't noticed Sanji yet and his gaze was focused on the poor bird. The swordsman ran to the seagull and caught it by its webbed paws before it had the chance to fly away.

« Coo! Do you have mail for me? »

News Coo squawked in distress. He was trying to fly away but Zoro had an iron fist and wasn't letting it go.

« Wow, impressive. _Said Sanji_. Algaes know how to read? »

Strangely, Zoro didn't answer. He still hadn't acknowledged Sanji and he was too focused on the bird to listen to the cook. News Coo, deciding that his life was worth more than a letter, turned his head toward Zoro and handed him Sanji's letter. As soon as Zoro grasped it, the bird had flown away.

Zoro opened sharply the envelope and took out the letter, unaware that Sanji was looking at him with wide eyes. The swordsman started reading.

« Fuck! That bastard is fast. _Muttered Zoro_.

-Wait, that's… »

Sanji didn't know why he stopped talking. Maybe because he was captivated by how Zoro was reading the letter. The swordman was moving his eyes with raging energy, fleeting from left to right in a staccato rhythm and ready to explode at each word. Maybe Sanji had stopped because he wanted to know _why_ Zoro seemed to accept the fact that this letter was for _him_ , even though it was obviously _not_ because it was a love story and he didn't know any Kouina and… Sanji felt a cold hand gripping his heart.

Impossible. Zoro was the original sender.

It all made sense now. News Coo had brought the letter back _to Zoro_ because it had fallen in the water but somehow, Sanji had intercepted it. Zoro's change a temper this week had been because of the letters. Just because Sanji had wanted to play a nasty trick to someone and…. He had been a real asshole, hadn't he? He had willingly played the bully to someone, not considered their feelings, and now he was faced with the reality of the situation.

Had Zoro not been the receiver, Sanji may have never figure out how rudely he had acted. He could see it now, through Zoro's rapidly changing expression, how heartless he had been. He had never seen Zoro so angry and distressed at the same time. His eyes were watery, his hands were twitching, clutching the letter involuntarily, making the paper was fold and crease at the same time. Something strong was making Zoro's arms vibrating ever so slightly and only a trained eye could see the way his whole face shifted.

Sanji couldn't dare to break the tense silence. Zoro's eyes were fixed on the letter, gasping from time to time.

« That! Son of a…! »

The swordsman walked off. His steps were heavy with rage and he left in his trail a very distressed Sanji.

Three days later, Sanji received a new letter. He couldn't read it until the day after. Zoro had been in a calm rage all day, sending angry glances at the sky. He couldn't see that Sanji was observing him.

From this day on, Sanji kept receiving letters but with no answer from his part, they gradually stopped. Zoro calmed over time but he never got rid of this pinched expression he had acquired since what Sanji had dubbed "the letter misfortune". To rectify this situation, Sanji decided to take the matter into his own hands.

The next day, Sanji woke up extremely early. He was nervous about his plan. He kept thinking about how Zoro would react and, being rightfully stressed, he managed to postpone the meeting until about 4 pm.

It was a coincidence at first. Zoro had come inside to get some booze, and in the laps of time that he needed to grab the bottle and unscrew it, Sanji had thrown a cup of coffee and some pastries on the table. Zoro turned around, ready to leave, but Sanji was blocking his way. Zoro eyed him carefully but said nothing when the cook grabbed his arm and forced him to sit at the table in front of the treats.

« What is that, a surprise party just for me? »

There was a bunch of stuff that the swordsman liked there. Unsure about the purpose of this meaning of this intervention, Zoro did not take anything from the table. Sanji was having a hard time keeping himself from fretting too much. When Zoro took a bite, he felt less stressed. Still unsure of what to say, he hesitated a moment before stepping away. Zoro smiled at himself, Sanji was quite a good chef after all.

Suddenly, a letter was forced in front of him.

Sanji saw the exact moment when Zoro went from surprise to fury. Just like last time, his finger clutched the letters. Slowly they curled and they wrapped around the words " _It was me. I'm sorry_ ".

Zoro raised his eyes toward the cook. He held them. Then, Zoro threw everything on the ground in one swift move and he was up in seconds.

« Asshole! Buying me with some pastries? Who the hell do you think I am?! »

Zoro punched Sanji. The cook took a half step back, feeling the blood rush to his head. He knew that he already had a bloody nose. Zoro took Sanji by the shirt and threw him on the wall. Sanji didn't even try to fight back as he was flung away. Instead of crashing against the wall, Sanji landed on the door, which opened under his weight. He tumbled outside and finally came to a stop when he hurt the railing. He heard his nakamas raise from behind, but he stopped them with a hand.

Slowly, Zoro got out of the kitchen. He faced Sanji from above with a murderous in his eyes. He raised a finger and pointed it at Sanji's shirt.

« Don't you dare pull that stunt again. I'll kill you. »

There was a tense silence, in which Sanji only nodded. The others stayed still as Zoro brushed past them, pushing Luffy and Usopp out of the way. Finally, with the swordsman gone, someone made a move to help Sanji, but the cook was too deep in his thoughts to accept the helping hand. He stood up by himself and walked to his kitchen, leaving his stunned friends behind.

At least, Zoro seemed to get better. I was Sanji, now, who was acting more closed up than usual. When, for the third time in a row, Nami was awoken by News Coo's squawks, she decided she had enough. It was Sanji's job to take care of the mail when Coo was early, and she would not accept this whole "boys will be boys" thing if she had to wake up early every day. After grabbing the mail, she went straight to the kitchen. She found Sanji making some complicated tender sweetness.

« Oi! Sanji! »

The cook jumped at the sound of her voice, but he promptly regained his senses and turned to her.

« Nami-swaaan! What can I do for you? Breakfast is not ready yet.

-I'm not here for breakfast. I'm here to talk about this _situation_ we have.

-Is there a problem? »

Sanji was ready to jump out, but Nami raised her hand in a calming gesture, stopping Sanji before he could reach the door.

« No, everything's fine. I'm talking about you and Zoro. »

Sanji looked positively ridiculous, with his creamed-covered whip and his doubtful look.

« Situation? There is no situation, dear Nami. I took care of that.

-And look how well it has turned out. »

Truly, Sanji didn't understand Nami. Zoro was doing better, wasn't he? For once, he had done something good for the swordsman. Why was his dear Nami-san thinking that it wasn't enough?

« Has Zoro started pouting again? _Sanji asked_.

-No. But you have.

-Me? I'm not pouting, I'm… cooking

-Try not to dwell on it too much. _Nami sighed_. Oh and, by the way, don't make me fetch the mail ever again. »

She pushed a letter into Sanji's hands and made her way to the door, oblivious to what she had just done. It was a white envelope, with Sanji's name on it. With dread, the cook turned the envelope around. The letter had no sender. Sanji looked at the letter like it was a venomous snake ready to pounce.

With a shaky finger, he opened the letter. Better to rip off the band-aid than waiting too long.

« _You're an asshole. Don't intervene in other people's business again._ »

Sanji's breath came more easily. Knowing the algae-head, this letter was the closest thing he would have to be forgiven.

He got out of his kitchen and spotted the swordsman before seeing anyone else. Zoro was seated against the mast, looking at the two idiots playing ball. Once the black blur that was Sanji came into Zoro's field of vision, they made eye contact. Sanji sent a nervous grin his way, and Zoro held his gaze.

" _Don't do that ever again_ ", the swordsman had written in his eyes.

And Sanji answered:

" _Never_ "


End file.
